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Ivan Rebroff

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Biography

A bass voice with a range exceeding four octaves, Ivan Rebroff has enjoyed success in interpreting traditional Russian songs and a variety of arias. Born Hans Rolf Rippert in Berlin on July 31, 1931, he grew up in the Spandau district, then in Belzig and Halle, where he sang in the town choir, before studying from 1951 to 1959 at the Hamburg State University of Music. Of Russian origin, as he may or may not have claimed, he learned the Eastern European folk repertoire from his teacher Adolf Detel, which enabled him to join the Black Sea Cossack Choir and the Ural Cossack Choir. After winning first prize at the ARD International Competition in Munich in 1960, the two-meter-tall giant with the stentorian voice made his debut at the Gelsenkirchen Opera (until 1963), then in Frankfurt (from 1963 to 1969). He distinguished himself in many roles, including The Barber of Seville, Boris Godunov, La Bohème, The Knight of the Rose, Don Carlos, Faust and operettas such as Sang viennois, The Gypsy Baron and The Bat, under the baton of Carlos Kleiber. A foot injury sustained in Munich in Orphée aux enfers kept him away from the stage. The singer used this time off to record a first album of his favorite arias under a pseudonym, which changed the course of his career and led to a contract with the CBS label. In his Cossack outfit, Ivan Rebroff became a much sought-after television performer, racking up gold records and being offered the role of the milkman in the musical Un violon sur le toit, where his rendition of the aria "Ah! Si j'étais riche" became a hit. After almost 1,500 performances, he continued to record Russian songs such as "Kalinka", "Katyusha" (which launched the "casatchok" dance), "Moscow Nights", "Plaine, ma plaine" and "Les Yeux Noirs", also sung in German, alongside popular melodies in a repertoire that he continued to expand on numerous tours. Awarded the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany in 1985, he performed in the USSR in 1989, forming a bass trio with Gunther Emmerlich and Günter Wewel. A regular performer right up to his final days, he was hospitalized in Vienna after a concert in December 2007, before dying of cardiac arrest in Frankfurt on February 27, 2008, at the age of 76.
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Albums


Top Tracks

  1.   Track
    Popularity
  2.   J. Strauss II: Die Fledermaus, Act II - Dialogue. Durchlaucht, hier ist Ihre Brieftasche wieder featuring Hermann Prey
  3.   J. Strauss II: Die Fledermaus, Act II - No. 8, Ensemble and Couplet. Ach, meine Herr'n und Damen featuring Hermann Prey
  4.   Dew Gitari (Deux guitares)
  5.   J. Strauss II: Die Fledermaus, Act II - No. 7, Couplet. Ich lade gern mir Gäste ein featuring Hermann Prey
  6.   J. Strauss II: Die Fledermaus, Act II - Dialogue. Hoheit, ein Chevalier Chagrin ist da featuring Hermann Prey
  7.   J. Strauss II: Die Fledermaus, Act II - Dialogue. Adele, wer hat denn dich hierher eingeladen? featuring Ivan Rebroff
  8.   Schilo Dvenazatj (La légende des douze brigands)
  9.   J. Strauss II: Die Fledermaus, Act II - Dialogue. Wir werden jetzt sehen das Ballett
  10.   J. Strauss II: Die Fledermaus, Act II - No. 11a, Finale. Herr, Chevalier, ich grüsse Sie! featuring Hermann Prey
  11.   J. Strauss II: Die Fledermaus / Act II - "Genug damit, genug" featuring Hermann Prey
  12.   Ave Maria
  13.   Plaisir d'amour
  14.   J. Strauss II: Die Fledermaus, Act II - Dialogue. Ah, da ist ja die schöne Unbekannte featuring Ivan Rebroff
  15.   Wdol Po Piterskoj (Dans les rues de St. Petersbourg)
  16.   Wot Polk Paschol
  17.   Kalinka Malinka
  18.   Katjuscha
  19.   J. Strauss II: Die Fledermaus, Act II - No. 11, Finale. Im Feuerstrom der Reben featuring Hermann Prey
  20.   Pad Moskovn' Je Veshera (Les Nuits de Moscou)
  21.   Poljuschko Polje (Patrouille Cosaque)
  22.   J. Strauss II: Die Fledermaus, Act II - Dialogue. Bravo! Bravissimo! featuring Hermann Prey
  23.   Stenka Rasin
  24.   Otschi tschornyje (Les Yeux Noir)
  25.   J. Strauss II: Die Fledermaus, Act III - No. 16, Finale. O Fledermaus, o Fledermaus featuring Hermann Prey
  26. See All Songs

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